Cherish The Love We Have
by Tawariell Saerwen
Summary: Germany wants to do something more sentimental for Italy this St. Valentine's Day, but does not have a clue on how to do it. With the help of Spain, he receives advice that inspires him to write a love letter for his partner. GerIta and Spamano.


**Cherish The Love We Have…**

By Tawariell Saerwen

Author's Note: This is part one of my Valentine's Day themed fanfiction. Part two will deal with Spain and Romano. The title for my story is inspired by the beautiful song called Cherish by Kool & The Gang. In this story, I am pushing my own personal Spamano headcanon that will be more explained in their own upcoming story. For my Alla Famiglia! readers, this headcanon will also be hinted in my story, too and then some. I hope that everyone enjoys this story. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

* * *

Germany monotonously tapped his pen in a percussion-like beat against the surface of the wooden desk and he nervously bit onto his bottom lip. His striking blue eyes fixated their stare upon a blank sheet of stationary paper with an envelope sitting adjacent to it. He had a project to do on behalf of his partner, Italy – to write a love letter for him to receive on St. Valentine's Day. He had not originally thought up this sweet, romantic gesture. It was his friend and fellow nation Spain who had given him the idea to do this. Germany personally could not stand St. Valentine's Day, but not because he resented the materialism which surrounded itself around the holiday. Nor was he resentful against the beauty of love; he was in love and was loved in return.

Germany hated St. Valentine's Day because he always struggled to express his affection for Italy. He also had problems finding a meaningful present to give for him, too. He would always give the usual gifts every time the holiday came up: a bouquet of red roses, a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a store-bought card. Italy was always giddy with happiness every time he received these presents and utterly grateful that Germany had bothered to do these things for him.

But now, things were different. A sudden change had come to the nation. Germany felt that rehashing the same annual gifts for Italy seemed too impersonal and lazy. He wanted to do something special for him, something unique. When he could not think of what to do, he called up his friend Spain and inquired him for guidance. Spain was a hopeless romantic. He was the perfect person to speak to on the topic of love. Romano, Italy's older twin brother was also incredibly romantic in his usual Italian charm, but he fervently declined to help him out.

Germany set his pen onto the table and he scooted his chair away so he could stand. He walked over to a window and he stood in front of it. A small smile formed on his stern face as he watched his beloved Italy making snow angels with their three dogs Aster, Berlitz and Blackie in the backyard. He listened to his sweet, tenor voice joyously giggling and the deep barking of their dogs whom were rolling and burrowing themselves into the thick blanket of snow. Germany's heartstrings were tugged when he watched Berlitz emerge from beneath the snow. He was wearing a thick knitted sweater, its dyed wool resembling the colors of his national flag. Italy had knitted it for the Doberman Pincher so that he would not freeze in the cold during his outdoor activities.

"That was a thoughtful gesture he did for Berlitz," Germany murmured to himself and he deeply let out a sigh, "Feli always excels when it comes to something like this. It's so easy for him to unselfishly share his love with everyone."

Germany cocked his head and peered over to his desk and his eyes glared at the blank stationary paper. "For once, why couldn't I be like him? Why is it so _difficult _for me to tell him how much he means to me? I'm so uptight! That's my problem. It's getting pathetic for me to being this way."

He looked back to the window and he suddenly noticed Italy grinning and waving up to him. Germany smiled and he waved back to him. The dogs had also paused their merriment and they barked up to him. Germany acknowledged them as well by waving to them and the purebred German dogs smiled. Then, he turned his back to them and he walked back to his desk. Sitting back in his seat, Germany reflected the touching advice that Spain had given him over the phone.

* * *

**Yesterday**

_ "…So you don't want to get him anything store bought this year, huh?"_ asked Spain through the receiver.

Germany sighed and he nodded his head. "Ja, and I don't know what to do for him to replace those boring gifts."

There was a brief pause in their conversation until Spain broke the silence between them. _"I know! How about you write him a love letter? It's a really sentimental thing to do for him and I just know that he'd go crazy over it!" _

Germany flinched by the idea of writing a love letter for Italy. "Erm, I-I don't think I can pull something off like that," he pathetically admitted.

_"Why not? Surly you've written love letters to each other before, haven't you?"_

"Well, umm…Feli has written them for me…but I've never returned the favor – "

_"WHAT?!"_ Spain suddenly cried in disbelief. Germany face-palmed himself and his pale skin blushed from embarrassment. At this very moment, he could hear Romano's baritone voice checking up on Spain in the background.

_"What's the matter?! Why are you shouting?!" _asked Romano.

_"Lovi! Oh, we gotta help Ludwig here! I just told him to write your brother a love letter for St. Valentine's Day and he DOESN'T know how to do it!"_

"HEY! I didn't say that I didn't know _how _to write a love letter! I said I've never _written _one before!" Germany angrily scoffed.

Romano overheard Germany's shouting voice through Spain's phone and he quickly pulled his partner's hand to his mouth so he could scream a response to him. _"AND WHY NOT?! IS IT BENEATH YOU TO WRITE ONE?! YOU'RE TOO FUCKING SELFISH TO DO SOMETHING NICE FOR MY FRATELLO, EH?! – I told you, Toni! I told you that Veneziano was suffering from __Stockholm's Syndrome! __God knows he's a victim of circumstances – "_

"I'M NOT HOLDING YOUR BROTHER HOSTAGE, YOU BASTARD! REMEMBER THAT HE _MOVED_ IN WITH _ME!_ HE _WANTS_ TO LIVE _HERE!_ THIS IS _OUR HOME!_" Germany furiously screamed over the receiver and he pounded his fist on the desk.

_"You hear him shouting at me, Toni? I bet that's all my poor fratello hears every day!"_

"HOW FUNNY! I COULD SAY THE VERY SAME THING ABOUT ANTONIO IN REGARDS TO HOW YOU'RE ALWAYS BITCHING AT HIM!"

Germany could suddenly hear Romano's growling on the other end and the soothing tone of Spain's voice trying to calm his partner down. "_GRRR! CHIGI! YOU BASTARD!"_

_ "Calm down, Tomate – "_

_ "YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"_

_ "C'mon, Lovi! Go back on the Internet! Enjoy watching your videos!"_ Spain said in a sappy parental tone and he patted Romano's plump butt. Romano stubbornly frowned to his partner and he stomped back to their computer room. _"Eh, sorry about that!" _he apologetically said to Germany.

"Whatever," Germany blankly answered.

_"Now why haven't you written a love letter for Feliciano before?" _Spain curiously asked.

"Uh…well, it's because…I-I can't get myself to do it. It's so difficult for me to express my feelings for Feli. Now don't get me wrong, Antonio, he _knows_ that I love him. I-I just have different ways of showing him that I do – "

_"Like making sweet, passionate love?!" _Spain inquired in a gushy tone and he began giggling like a schoolgirl.

Germany violently cringed after listening to Spain's personal question. He reluctantly answered him in a bashful tone. "Uh, ja…I-I do that…and I-I also show my love for him…by cooking for him sometimes…and taking him out to places that interest him…and – "

_"Making sweet, passionate looooooove?!" _Spain inquired again in a lovey-dovey voice.

"GOTT VERDAMNT! WILL YOU GET OVER IT?!" Germany shrieked. He then could suddenly hear Romano's voice yelling to Spain in disgust.

_"DON'T TELL ME HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO DO __THAT!__ OH, MY POOR FRATELLO! __STILL __A VIRGIN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! I'LL BE PRAYING MY ROSARY FOR HIS SAKE TONIGHT!"_

_ "Lovino! Mind your own business! We're having a serious discussion here!"_

_ "Anything involving that Potato Bastard can __never__ be taken seriously!"_

_ "Tomate! Go watch Nostalgia Critic, or something and let me talk to Ludwig – "_

_ "Why?! The Nostalgia Critic is dead! The show's cancelled! Didn't you watch To Boldly Flee?!"_

_ "Watch a re-run then! Just give me a few minutes to myself, okay? – Hey, Ludwig! Are you still there? Yoo-Hoo!"_

Germany had rested his cellphone onto his desk and he dramatically face-palmed himself with both hands. He was utterly mortified by Romano's bitter assumptions about him and his lackluster approach of being a Casanova. He timidly retrieved his phone and held it up to his ear after he overheard Spain's monotonous cries to him. "I-I'm here," he murmured.

_"Eh-heh! Sorry again about that. My lovely Lovi is cranky today!" _Spain lovingly doted.

"He's cranky _every day,_ what's your point?" Germany retorted.

_"Eh, that's true!" _ Spain concurred and he expressed a cheerful giggle. _"Okay, lets go back to our discussion. Now about writing the love letter for Feliciano…honestly, I really feel strongly that you should do this for him – "_

"B-But I wouldn't do a sufficient job – "

_"No butts! How can you say that it can't be done if you haven't even tried?"_

Germany stifled his whining, stunned by Spain's sincere words. He was right. He kept silent as he listened to the nation's heartfelt advice to him on how to write a love letter for Italy.

_"Look, I get it. I understand that it's difficult for you to express your feelings. There's nothing wrong with that! It just means that you're shy. It was difficult for Lovino to express his feelings for me for many years, but I knew that he loved me nevertheless. He had other ways of showing it to me, too. You and him are quite alike in some ways! You're stern, reserved and uptight! The littlest things set you both off! Honestly, your personalities are so similar it's almost spooky – "_

"Lets get back to the love letter, shall we?" Germany bluntly interrupted.

_"Eh-heh! Of course! Anyway…it was difficult for Lovino to express himself to me in words until we were separated when I fell under Civil War in 1936. Remember how I sent him away to stay with you and Feliciano so he'd be spared from the war? Heh, who'd a thunk that the rest of Europe would break out into war right after mine had ended! _

_ Anyway…the point is that Lovino and I were separated from each other for almost a decade. When WWII commenced, I was forced into isolation and to be completely neutral to both sides. My borders were closed to the rest of Europe. Thus, Lovino could not return to me. The only communication that we had were our letters…and it was these letters that transformed Lovino's attitude toward giving affection….are you still there?"_

"Uh, ja…I'm listening," Germany softly answered as he recalled the past involving the Italy Brothers and himself in the tyranny of war. Spain continued to speak his point and his tone of voice became melancholy and quiet.

_"The letters that we wrote to each other are so special to us, Ludwig. Lovino would write to me about his involvement with the Resistance on his half of Italy…he'd tell me all of his adventures…and his sudden brushes with death…but more importantly, he told me how much he loved me…and how much he missed me. All of the letters are terribly romantic…and some are very sad…I get kind of choked up thinking about them…we both wrote to each other with every whim of our hearts. God only knew when or if we would ever be reunited. Besides Him and my rosary, it was also Lovino's letters that brought me comfort._

_ "Every St. Valentine's Day, we look over our love letters. We cherish the words that we wrote to each other. If you write a love letter to Feliciano, I just know that he would cherish the love that you have for him. It would be the greatest Valentine gift to give him…and this is something that doesn't have to be done only on St. Valentine's Day. Tell him often how much he means to you as if today were to be your final day on Earth. That's how it is now for Lovino and myself. Don't hold back your words to him, Ludwig. He has the right to know how much he is adored! Are you still there?"_

Germany gulped hard with emotion after he listened intently to Spain. He had not realized such intimate details between him and Romano before. He felt inspired by their partnership and could not help but find himself in agreement to Spain's caring advice. "Y-You're right. I need to do this for him…I _want_ to do this for him…"

_ "And so you shall! I know you can do it! Just go into your study room and remain alone while you are writing to Feli. Don't overthink of what to say to him. Just relax and allow your heart to do the writing for you. Yeah, I know that sounds cliché, but that's all I can really tell you. You have love for Feli…you already know what to say to him…now just meditate on it and let the words flow…"_

"Danke schön for your advice. I highly appreciate it," Germany said.

_"De nada! Good luck with your letter! I just know it'll turn out great!" _Spain happily responded.

"I-I hope that you're right, my friend," Germany concurred. Suddenly, he could hear Romano excitably shouting to Spain from the other room. He held the phone slightly away from his ear, for his bellowing voice caused it to painfully ring.

_"TONI! TOOONNNNIIIII!"_

_ "W-What is it, Lovi?"_

_ "THE NOSTALGIA CRITIC! HE'S BACK! HE'S BAAAAACK, TONIO!"_

_ "That's awesome, tesoro! – "_

_ "COME WATCH IT WITH ME! *GASP* ERMAHGERD! HE HAS A THEME SONG! HE HAS A THEME SONG! – "_

_ "Eh, Ludwig! I have to go now! If you need any more advice from me, just give me a call or text! ¡Adios!" _Spain hurriedly blurted out and he ended their conversation.

* * *

Germany picked up his pen. He looked to the clean-slated stationary paper with great determination. He took a deep breath and he pressed the ball tip of his pen onto the paper. "I know what I need to write…don't flake, Ludwig," he told himself and he began to write in cursive, addressing the letter to his beloved.

_"My Dearest Feliciano…"_

* * *

**The Next Day – St. Valentine's Day**

Italy slowly emerged from beneath the bed sheets, outstretching his arms and releasing a prolonged yawn. He brought his hands up to his puffy eyes and he rubbed the sleep away from them. He finally opened his beautiful brown eyes and he happily looked over to the other side of the king sized bed. "Buon San Valentino!" he exclaimed. But then he suddenly noticed that Germany was not sleeping next to him. Instead, it was their cats, Gino and Germouser who were occupying his space.

Italy grinned to the household pets and he reached over to touch their foreheads. "Buon San Valentino!" he repeated again especially for them and the cats contently looked up to him and started to purr. Italy scooted closer to them so he could plant kisses all over their faces. As he leaned in to kiss Germouser, however, the grey cat became somewhat intimidated and he jumped off the bed.

"Heh, typical Germouser," Italy said to Gino and he leaned in to kiss his cat, whom gladly accepted his Papi's love. After kissing him, Italy's peripheral vision caught something peculiar lying on the bed. He looked toward Germany's pillow only to discover an envelope lying on top of it. Timidly, the nation reached over to retrieve the letter. "Is this for me?" he asked himself. He then read the name written on the envelope.

_Feliciano_

"It is for me!" he told Gino and he held the letter up for the cat to see. Gino mewed in awe and he looked to his Papi with eagerness to open the letter. Italy obliged and he carefully opened the letter. He pulled out the letter and unfolded it. Italy cross his legs together and sat up straight on the bed. He brought the letter up to his face and tried to read it, but realized that he could not distinguish anything written on it.

"Mghner," he expressed with annoyance and he was about to reach over to his bedside table to grab his reading eyeglasses, but Gino cleverly had already done the job for him. He had jumped over to the table, gripped his eyeglasses with his small mouth and carried them back to his Papi.

"Oh! Grazie, Gino!" Italy exclaimed and he gave the cat another kiss onto his forehead. Gino mewed to him and he plopped himself against the cool bed sheets. Finally, Italy slipped on his reading glasses and he held up the letter that was left for him to read. He cleared his throat and he began to read his letter out loud.

* * *

_ My Dearest Feliciano,_

_ I have written this letter to you as best as I possibly could, for you know quite too well how difficult it is for me to open my feelings to you. Why you have tolerated my deplorable behavior remains a mystery to me. I think back on all the countless moments that I have mistreated you, especially during wartime, and my conscious haunts me for putting fear into your heart, for making you weep and for hurting your feelings._

_ Please forgive me, my love, for my callousness. Forgive me for the times I have withdrawn from your touch, my denial to having you dote over me. Forgive me for the times I have shunned your affection in the public eye. But most of all, please forgive me for my failures as a partner, as a man and as a fellow ally for not showing enough affection to you._

_ This is why I have written this letter for you, my dearest Feliciano, so that I may finally tell you how much you actually mean to me. Ich liebe dich, Italia. I love you so much. From the very moment we first met, finding you hiding inside that tomato crate in the forest, I knew that I loved you, for I became alive that day, my Tomato Box Fairy, and there has never been a moment in our relationship that my love for you has diminished. I live for you, Feliciano. You are my life._

_ I need you, more than you could ever imagine. I cherish you and the love that we have for each other. You complete me, my love, and you have healed my wounds with your compassion, your grace and your joy. Only God knows how miserable my life would have been like without you in it. I give thanks to Him for bringing us together. _

_ I will try to be more open to you for now on when you adorn your tenderness to me. I shall now do the same, more than I have ever done for you in the past. It may seem impossible for you to believe this, due to my strict, conservative behavior, but when you embrace me, kiss me and utter sweet nothings to me, my heart begins to flutter with jubilation. When we make love to each other, I am in a state of euphoria and I know that you are as well. I am grateful that you have only known my touch and I have only known yours. It was worth waiting for you._

_ Perhaps I am making a strange assumption over what I am about to say, but sometimes it feels as if you and I have known each other for a lifetime, as if our strong connection to one another surpasses our first meeting in the forest. I have always felt this way for many years. I do not know where it comes from or why I feel this way about us. Perhaps this is what true love is supposed to feel like. If that is what I am feeling, then I am glad that I am experiencing it with you. It takes some people years to find true love; some people pass away without ever knowing it. What a blessing it is that we know what it feels to receive unconditional love. _

_ I will continue loving you, my dearest Feliciano, for as long as we remain here on Earth. Please continue loving me, too, in your own special way. I live for your love; I live for your gleaming presence in my life. I am nothing without you. Ich liebe dich._

_ Alles Liebe zum Valentinstag – Buon San Valentino._

_Forever Yours,_

_Ludwig_

* * *

Italy settled the letter down onto the bed. His brown eyes were overflowing with tears and his shoulders shuddered with extreme emotion. He slipped off his reading glasses and dropped them to his side and he suddenly cupped his hands over his face and began to sob. Gino, too, started to dramatically mew in unison with his Papi and he covered his little eyes with his paw.

Italy loudly gasped and choked as his tears poured down his face. He was extremely touched by Germany's love letter to him; he had never imagined ever receiving such an intimate gesture such as this coming from him in his life. He knew that he was loved by him, but not as much as this. His ancient heart was palpitating hard inside his chest cavity and his emotional gasps became deeper and shakier.

When he finally brought his hands away from his flushed face, he looked straight ahead and noticed Germany standing in front of their bed. He held up a tray of breakfast that he wanted to serve to Italy in bed with a single red rose sitting in a small, crystal vase. He smiled to his beloved; his face slightly blushed from nervousness. When Germany saw that Italy was about to scoot up to the posterior end of the bed, he walked over to settle the breakfast tray onto a table. When he returned to the bed, he was suddenly glomped by his partner and was being showered with kisses.

"OH, LUDWIG! *kiss* G-G-RAZIE! *kiss* OH, G-GRAZIE! *kiss* TI AMO! TI AMMMO! *kiss* *kiss* *kiss*" Italy happily wailed. Germany wrapped his powerful arms around the petite man and he held him tightly against his chest. A single tear escaped from his eyes as he fought to hold back his emotion, but he could not do so and his plentiful tears ran down his blushing face. He returned the gesture of kissing Italy on his lips, his cheeks, his eyes and every inch of his face. Their lips finally locked together and they passionately kissed one another; their tongues rubbing and petting one another. Gino mewed in awe and he suddenly jumped out of bed. He had decided that his Papas' needed their privacy and the little cat dashed out of their bedroom.

The nations parted their lips and they gasped for breath. Germany broke his embrace from Italy so he could walk around the bed. Once he did so, he sat right next to his beloved and their arms wrapped around each other again. "I-I assume that you liked my love letter," he bashfully remarked.

"Si! Oh, si! It was beautiful, Luddy! What ever possessed you to write it?" Italy asked as he pressed his face against Germany's chiseled chest.

"I-I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me…you deserved to know how much you are loved…I have failed to do this for you in the past – "

"No, you haven't!" Italy suddenly interrupted and he raised his head up and he doted over his beloved by wiping away the tears from Germany's face.

"I-I haven't?"

"No! I-I've always known the intensity of your love, mi amor, through your _actions_. Your overly protective of me…your eyes…they speak to me when words fail…having me live with you in your house…and making it into a home…if that isn't love, then I don't know what is!"

Germany lips quivered with emotion and Italy leaned in to kiss them with his own trembling lips. When they parted once again, Italy stroked his partner's disheveled blond hair and he smiled to him. "I'm so glad that you wrote that letter to me. I shall cherish it for the rest of my life. Thank you….oh, thank you, sweetheart…"

"Y-You're welcome," Germany answered in a hushed tone. Then, he expressed something that he has ever rarely done for Italy or for anybody else – he grinned to him; showing his straight, white teeth.

"Why, look at you! You're showing off your 'pearly whites!'" Italy lovingly teased.

"Ja, I am…you make feel this way…you make me so happy, Feliciano," Germany responded.

"And you make me happy also, Ludwig," Italy concurred while his hands went back to touching Germany's face. They both leaned in once again to kiss one another. As they did this, Italy laid himself down onto the messed up bed with Germany mounting on top of him. Their kissing became more passionate than before and their hands interlocked, resting next to the love letter.

_"Ti amo, Ludwig," _Italy emotionally whispered.

_"Ich liebe dich, Feliciano," _Germany softly responded and their mouths pressed together again as they commenced into the precious ritual of making love to each other.

* * *

The End


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